In the sphere of Carnatic music, Padma Bhushan Sri Lalgudi G. Jayaraman is another name for perfection and musical excellence. Endowed with extraordinary intelligence, blessed with a photographic memory combined with a finely attuned ear for aesthetics, Lalgudi revolutionized the style of violin playing, inventing a whole new technique which came to be known as the Lalgudi Bani. His flawless and fascinating style, graceful, firmly rooted in tradition, yet original and innovative, gained him innumerable fans. This multi-dimensional genius is also a composer par excellence and has to his credit several 'kritis', 'tillanas' and 'varnams', which are a scintillating blend of raga, rhythm, bhava and lyrical beauty.

In 1958, the maestro started performing violin solo concerts along with his sister Srimathi Brahmanandam, herself a gifted violinist. Lalgudi’s violin duets were unique in the way he combined the two violins in a delectable musical exchange (Like the kalpana swara for the Kannada kriti in this product which creates a symphony effect). Violin duets gained a new dimension and status on the concert platform.

With so many accomplishments, Lalgudi still believes there is more to be done. In a recent interview Lalgudi has said, “Music is my life breath. It is not a thing to be achieved. It is a path to be traversed. I honestly feel that I am a senior student. There is much more that is waiting to be discovered. If God grants me a wish, I would ask, “Please make me twenty-five years younger. I want to delve deeper into the ocean of music.”

This product showcases one of his magnificent concerts at The Music Academy, Chennai, in the year 1965, along with his sister Smt. Srimathi Brahmanandam, and accompanied by none other than the mridangam legend Shri. Palghat Mani Iyer and his son T.R. Rajamani. Mani Iyer is hailed as the monarch of percussionists and an incarnation of the Nandi. The coming together of two such masters brings us a divine and spellbinding experience of music in all its glory.